Another two months passed, and during this time, Šuker's injury had recovered quite well. He was now able to move around freely.
However, his bone fracture had not fully healed yet, so he still needed to rest and avoid intense physical activity.
Šuker continued reporting weekly to the Milan medical center for checkups.
Out of boredom, he occasionally went to the stadium to watch home matches.
Currently, AC Milan's situation was not very good.
Although they still had fighting strength, in key matches against strong opponents, they consistently lacked the decisive edge.
Tassotti had originally tried to revive Shevchenko, hoping the Ukrainian could recapture his old form at Milan. But after five consecutive matches without scoring a single goal, Tassotti had to give up on that idea.
Any further reliance on Shevchenko would only exhaust Kaká.
Kaká had clearly become the core player of AC Milan.
In their home loss against Juventus (2-3), if not for Kaká's outstanding performance, they might have been completely slaughtered.
As for Ronaldinho, Tassotti initially approached him with a mindset of open communication—hoping the Brazilian would turn over a new leaf, stay disciplined, and find a second peak at Milan—but he failed.
In today's Italian football scene, two people constantly made headlines.
One was the arrogant José Mourinho.
The other was the hedonistic Ronaldinho.
What angered Tassotti the most was that just one day before a Champions League group match, Ronaldinho not only didn't train seriously, but actually went out clubbing and partying.
In a rage, Tassotti benched Ronaldinho.
He had hoped this would teach the Brazilian a lesson—but instead, Ronaldinho partied even harder.
As for the league, after 9 rounds, AC Milan sat 6th on the table:
Inter Milan: 6 wins, 3 draws, 0 losses – 21 points
Udinese: 6-2-1 – 20 points
Napoli: 6-2-1 – 20 points
Fiorentina: 5-2-2 – 17 points
Lazio: 5-1-3 – 16 points
AC Milan: 5-1-3 – 16 points
This was Milan's worst start in the past ten seasons.
With Maldini's retirement, Ancelotti's departure, and Šuker's injury, AC Milan's performance had dropped off a cliff.
Kaká stood alone as Milan's last pillar.
But he couldn't hold everything up by himself!
For Milan fans, every home match had become a torture session.
In the past, they enjoyed the process because Milan usually scored first.
But now, they constantly worried about conceding goals. Watching the underperforming players continuously make mistakes left fans anxious and uneasy.
Their offensive efficiency was terrible.
If Šuker were on the field, many chances would've been converted into goals. But the current Milan strikers kept missing.
Shevchenko had even become so self-conscious he didn't dare shoot anymore.
In the seventh round, with only one defender guarding the goal after the keeper had rushed out, Shevchenko chose to pass instead of shoot.
That pass wasted a golden opportunity. Milan passed the ball four times inside the box before Pirlo finally took a shot—which didn't result in a goal.
In nine matches, AC Milan had scored 13 goals and conceded 8.
Of the 13 goals:
Kaká scored 6
Beckham scored 3
Ronaldinho scored 2
Šimunić and Gattuso each scored 1
Kaká and Beckham accounted for the vast majority of Milan's goals.
Meanwhile, the forwards:
Shevchenko: 0 goals
Pato: 0 goals
Inzaghi: 0 goals
Gilardino: not even played
Ronaldinho, once highly anticipated this season, was declining in form. Ironically, the loaned Beckham had become a true workhorse.
One had to admit, Manchester United's products, trained by Ferguson, still carried a strong fighting spirit.
Milan's situation in the Champions League was even worse.
After three group stage matches, Milan—despite being a Pot 1 seed—was being suppressed by Chelsea and Lyon.
Home: 1-2 loss to Ancelotti's Chelsea
Away: 0-1 loss to Lyon
Matchday 3: win over Steaua Bucharest
But Milan's qualification hopes were now on thin ice.
For Milan fans, every game had become a nerve-wracking experience.
And during each match, they couldn't help but miss their all-powerful No. 10—Šuker.
They missed the victories Šuker brought.
They missed the thunderous cheers as Šuker charged at opposing goals.
They missed the figure who stood tall in the San Siro, their most reliable offensive core.
But Šuker's return was still far away.
Reports said he wouldn't be back until at least after the winter break.
November arrived in Milan with rainy, bitterly cold weather—but what chilled fans even more was the fact that AC Milan was officially eliminated from the Champions League after four group matches.
In the fourth match against Lyon, there were many controversial refereeing decisions.
Milan submitted an appeal to UEFA, claiming they could've won if not for interference by the referee.
UEFA, of course, ignored them.
But even before Milan could escalate the issue, Bayern Munich also submitted a complaint to UEFA.
They not only accused the same referee but declared that football should be played in a clean environment.
Milan requested a rematch.
But Bayern went even further—they demanded that Milan be directly awarded the victory.
This sparked laughter across Europe.
No one expected Bayern Munich to be more invested in Milan's success than Milan themselves.
But there was a reason!
They weren't in the same group!
Bayern wanted revenge!
They were set to advance as group leaders. If Milan advanced too, they could meet in the knockout stage.
Now that Milan was eliminated, Bayern was more anxious than Milan.
Of course, this farce ended with no result.
Eliminated meant eliminated.
There was no rematch—let alone awarding Milan a win.
Now, Milan could only fight for third place in their group and drop to the Europa League.
Watching Milan fail even to stay in the Champions League, fans were heartbroken.
In the absence of Šuker, every match felt like walking on thin ice.
"When will Šuker return?" became the biggest hope of Milan fans.
To appease the angry crowd, the club released detailed updates on Šuker's condition.
They even asked Šuker to record a video message to help calm the fans.
Šuker agreed.
In the video, Šuker looked completely different.
His once baby-faced cheeks had slimmed down, revealing a more defined jawline, accentuated by a faint stubble around his mouth—adding a hint of maturity.
His signature bowl cut had become a slightly long middle part, with bangs partially covering his face, tied into a small ponytail.
But he still wore that signature sunny smile.
He shared fun stories from his recovery period and playfully teased his teammates' performances.
He also called on fans to support and encourage the players more, and reassured them that his recovery was going well—he'd be back after the winter break.
The video wasn't long, but Milan fans replayed it over and over.
Perhaps, in this miserable period, Šuker had become their only comfort and hope.
The video calmed the angry supporters.
And it let the Milan board and coaching staff breathe a sigh of relief.
But just as one storm calmed, another began.
Spain's Marca suddenly published two bombshell reports:
Florentino Pérez would run in the 2009 Real Madrid presidential election.
Pérez's office claimed they had already reached an agreement with Šuker, and would complete the signing in the summer transfer window!
Right now, Real Madrid's upper management was in chaos.
Following a betrayal by Calderón's secretary—who exposed a slew of scandals including vote manipulation, power abuse, and purging dissent—Calderón's support was plummeting.
He now even risked being ousted early.
And at that critical moment, Florentino Pérez announced his candidacy—while simultaneously dropping the Šuker bombshell, delivering a fatal blow to Calderón!